Last week's Chicago Auto Show had relatively few debuts; the Chevrolet Cruze diesel and a redesigned Toyota Tundra pickup truck were the most noteworthy.

But the featured speaker at a luncheon thrown by the Economic Club of Chicago drew a full room: Henrik Fisker, cofounder of struggling startup automaker Fisker Automotive.

Fisker's talk was a fairly standard presentation that could largely have been given two or three years ago, when Fisker was on the verge of delivering its first Karma sedans.

When asked whether he would care to "comment on where new investors might come from," Fisker replied, "Absolutely ... not."

The pause in his response was perfectly timed, even if the answer itself made it clear he would discuss little of substance.

He did, however, take several swipes at Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] and its battery-electric Model S luxury sport sedan--without ever naming the company--in touting the benefits of his own Karma range-extended electric sedan.

"There is not a lot of demand for pure battery electric cars," he said in describing why his company chose that electric architecture, which he termed a "plug-in hybrid."

"In pure electric vehicles," he continued a few minutes later, "there will be too many models chasing too few buyers"--and he went on to make several references to the undesirability of a "giant battery" that only provides 250 miles of range, "and now you need to charge for a couple of days."

In response to a question about whether Fisker would ever build the Karma with only a gasoline engine--like the Corvette-powered Destino displayed at the Detroit Auto Show--Fisker emphatically said no.

"Our lifestyle brand is all about being environmentally friendly," he said. "Established carmakers are the best at making gasoline-powered cars, and we want to stay in a space where there's less competition."

I could never buy a Fisker after the shenanigan's he commited against Tesla and Elon Musk during the initial design phase.I think Fisker should go away and give Tesla more room to grow.The Tesla is a much more sorted automobile with a much bigger chance for success.and that also includes the Coda also.Between Ford,Nissan,GM, BMW ,Tesla and it's side projects with Mercedes.

CDspeed
Posted: 2/11/2013 3:29pm PST

All this talk from a man who started a car company more concered with vanity then anything else. At this point you'd think he'd have nothing but nice things to say so he could shake off all that bad Karma. Your ship is sinking Henrick now is not the time to make more enemies.

Danny
Posted: 2/12/2013 5:44am PST

"There is not a lot of demand for pure battery electric cars." Boy, is he out of touch with reality. People are clamoring to buy pure EVs. There aren't enough stylish and moderately priced ones around to buy.

fb_1559222512
Posted: 2/12/2013 1:35pm PST

Exactly, I guess Fisker didn't really call Elon to ask him about how Telsa is doing with their sales. Apparently, Tesla couldn't make enough of the model S to meet demand...